Wednesday, March 8, 2017

What You Have to Give Up to Pay for An Unexpected Hospital Visit?

We may all be one stomach bug away from an unexpected hospital visit. Accidents and illnesses can occur without warning, wreaking havoc on finances and negatively impacting everyday life, even with health insurance. While many people have major medical insurance, rarely do they prepare for the additional financial impact of out-of-pocket costs even a short stay in the hospital can incur. The average length of a hospital stay is 4.6 days and costs $11,000, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

What would the average family have to give up to pay that type of medical bill — eating out at restaurants for a year or more, weekly lawn service, maid service, pet grooming or family movie nights? No one should have to stress about the impact hospital visits and related expenses could have on everyday life. That’s why companies like Aflac have designed supplemental hospital indemnity insurance policies to help cover what major medical insurance may not. Hospital insurance provides additional coverage that can help protect individuals and families from potentially devastating medical expenses, allowing them to keep their lives on track.

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When specific events associated with a hospital visit occur, policyholders receive cash benefits that can be used to help cover everything from treatment costs to expenses that health insurance doesn’t typically cover, such as, rent, gas, groceries, utilities, child care and other necessities. Do your kids realize just how much money you’re really worth once all your assets are added up? If they’re anything like the adult offspring surveyed for Fidelity Investments’ “Family & Finance Study,” the answer is a resounding — and rather scary — “no.” In fact, seven out of 10 of them underestimated their parents’ estate by an average of $278,000.

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That’s right, by more than a quarter of a million dollars. The reason that’s scary — and why it should be a wake-up call for even those with modest estates they hope to pass on to heirs — is simple: It illustrates a breakdown in communications that Kevin Ruth, head of Fidelity’s wealth planning and personal trust, says badly needs addressing through ‘frank conversations” between parents and their adult children.

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We all want our kids to have movie-star smiles as adults. As parents, this means knowing how to protect their teeth when they’re young, while ensuring that they practice good dental health care for a lifetime. Because February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, it’s the perfect time to “brush up” on instilling good oral-hygiene habits. Consider this: according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), nearly one in three children ages two to five years old in the U.S. are affected by tooth decay, which is one of the top chronic infectious diseases among children and can compromise their health, development, and quality of life in both the short and long term.